In its sixth year, Expat Insider, one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive surveys on life abroad, has set yet another record: 20,259 participants from around the globe shared their experiences in 2019. Together, they represent 182 nationalities and are scattered across 187 countries or territories.

Although a few destinations attract a majority of expats — three in ten live in Germany, the USA, Switzerland, the UK, or the UAE — the Expat Insider 2019 survey also includes responses from more unusual expat destinations such as Aruba, Turkmenistan, or Vanuatu.

Despite the record number of participants, slightly fewer destinations meet the requirements to be featured in the league tables.

A sample size of at least 75 respondents per country or territory is necessary for the overall ranking: 64 destinations make the cut in 2019, compared to 68 in the previous year. The only exception to this rule is the Family Life Index, where a sample size of at least 40 respondents raising children abroad is necessary.

In 2019, 36 destinations meet this requirement. The country rankings list the best (and worst) destinations across the globe, focusing on essential topics: quality of life, ease of settling in, working abroad, family life, personal finance, and cost of living.

Want to know which country is new in the global top 3? Or interested to learn why parents love Finland? Below, you can find an in-depth analysis of the best and worst expat destinations, insights into the biggest winners and losers, and focus articles on the five indices.

We have also asked specific questions about the cities our respondents live in: What do they think about the local transportation options in their city? How easy is it for them to find housing? How do they rate their local career opportunities?

The Expat Insider 2019 city ranking provides an in-depth analysis of 82 cities around the world. The results focus on the quality of urban living, getting settled, urban work life, as well as finance and housing — giving an overview of the best and worst cities for expats worldwide.

Below, we take a closer look at various expat destinations, featuring 16 country profiles, from Australia to the USA, as well as three regional reports that cover five GCC States, four of the Nordic countries, and the four Asian Tigers.

Read on to find out what expat life is like around the world!

The Expat Insider infographics below provide a handy visualization of some of the most interesting results, information on survey respondents, and more details on what factors into the overall ranking. Click on the images below to access the full-size infographics.